Meeting Minutes – Approved August 9, 2007

Date: Thursday, May 10, 2007

Time: 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Place: 1400 Emeline Avenue, Bldg K, Room 206, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

1.0 Call to Order

Chair Stone called the meeting to order at 12:40 p.m.

2.0 Roll Call

Present: Charles Stone, Doug Patrick, Aaron Spencer, Robert McGaw, Michael Bush, Jeanette Cosentino, Paul Ticknor

Absent: Joseph Quigg, Peter Heylin,

Guest(s): John Daugherty, Metro Regional Transportation, Sylvia Caras, Alene Smith

Staff: Mary Thuerwachter, Commission Coordinator

3.0 Announcements

4.0 Minutes

ACTION: The Commission approved the April Meeting minutes.

Msp BM/DP

5.0 Additions/Deletions

6.0 Oral Communications

John Daugherty, Metro, announced that there would be a meeting of the Transportation Task Force on May 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mid County Senior Center. There will be discussion of proposals to the Transportation Commission, which may lead to a ballot initiative. Chair Stone asked whether there had been any impact at Metro due to the Alliance cutbacks on Medi-Cal transport. Dougherty responded that he is not aware of any. However, he reported that Community Bridges has gone to the Elderly and Disabled Transportation Advisory Body to request funding because other needs had been identified for persons who were no longer eligible for Medi-Cal rides. There was also a report that the Holy Cross access trail is currently blocked.

7.0 Reports

7.1 Commissioner Reports

Chair Stone reported that the Quigg project, which uses universal design principles, has been approved by the Santa Cruz City Council, which provided $2 million in funding. It will have 36 accessible units and give priority to Santa Cruz City residents.

Commissioner Cosentino reported that she had spoken with Mark Mendolsohn as an expert for a Universal Design Workshop. He would cost $2500 for 3 hours. There will need to be a search for other possible speakers for the conference.

Commissioner Bush reported that the local suit against Catholic Healthcare West in federal court has been put on hold because of a similar suit brought in Florida regarding accessible bathrooms and transportation for person with disabilities. Commissioner Cosentino commented that many of the toilets were coming loose from the walls because they were not designed for enough weight and there were no large size chairs available.

7.2 Coordinator Report

The Coordinator reported that the computer in the Commissions office was upgraded and is much faster. However, the upgrade created a problem with updating the commission website. New software and/or sychronization with the website will require help from the ISD department (tech support). So the website is not being updated until these problems can be resolved.

8.0 Ongoing Business

Inclusive Home Design/Universal Access:

Commissioner Patrick spoke with Tom Burns, head of the Planning Department. He, along with Commissioner Spencer, will meet to discuss adding information on accessible design to the Planning Department’s website. They will also discuss putting accessible design brochures in the Planning Department lobby and including Universal Design materials in permit packages. David Lee and a Deputy Commissioner will attend the meeting next Wed at 9 a.m. The feedback has been positive.

Legislation:

Disability Awareness/Cultural Competency:

CAP Update – Commissioner Patrick reported that he is continuing to work with United Way on Disability Awareness and met with Children’s Mental Health and Pajaro Schools to get information on challenges and services for person with disabilities. Local organizations are overwhelmed with other reporting requirements and unable to be resources for data. Commissioners Cosentino and Spencer will survey people who attend a Day at the Beach in July to get data.

Commissioner Spencer reported that there were problems at Cabrillo with the DSPS shuttle to take disabled persons up the hill for a meeting which was not a class. No one answers the phone at DSPS after 4:45 p.m. It is unclear whether reservations were required for rides after 5 p.m. Commissioner Spencer will investigate and discuss with the coordinator a possible letter, if necessary, for the next meeting. He also reported that the courtroom in the basement of the County building had no spaces available for wheelchair users. He spoke with Assistant Executive Officer for the Court. He explained that the Court was in transition and facilities management was being taken over by the State of California. He encouraged the Commission to make a comment regarding accessibility so that it could be addressed by the new administration. Staff will prepare a letter for Chair Stone.

Commissioner Patrick contacted the Sheriff’s Department to determine whether people were using the Sheriff’s number on the cards to report parking in disability parking spaces. He learned that the Sheriff was unable to respond because they are down 20 deputies and this is a low priority. He believes that the placement of cards has a positive effect but few citations result. Law enforcement cannot get there fast enough. There was a suggestion that the cards be modified to include the cost of the fine on the card. Possible format changes were also discussed.

Terry Brickley Scholarship:

8.2 Commission vacancy update

At least three commissioners do not live in the district of the Supervisor who appointed them. At the April meeting, staff was requested to investigate the possibility of commissioners being reappointed to another district. Staff reported that the procedure for having Commissioners reappointed to the actual districts the live in may be cumbersome. Each person would have to resign from their district, a notice of vacancy would be posted and then commissioners would be reappointed by the Board of Supervisors at a regular meeting. There was also some discussion that if applicants did not have to live in the district of the supervisor who is filling the vacancy there would be better chances of filling vacant positions. Long standing vacancies have been a problem in the past.

8.3 Emergency Response Protocol for PWD’s

8.4 Creating a stronger and more cohesive disability community in Santa Cruz

For discussion at next meeting, a possible article in the Good Times profiling how a disability may affect someone’s life over a one year period. This may be a project for the Youth and Advocacy Disabilities Group.

Staff reported back on the letter supporting the United Nations Convention on Disabilities. It was suggested that the Commission recommend that the Board of Supervisors contact Sam Farr to urge his support and action since the Convention needs to be adopted at the federal level. Staff will draft letter.

A discussion of a retreat for the Commission will be moved to the beginning of the agenda for the June meeting.

9.0 New Business

Meeting adjourned 2:00 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mary Thuerwachter

Commission Coordinator